What to look for when buying a steel hulled boat?

[Spivy30]

I'm thinking about buying an old Chris Craft Roamer that is steel. What should I look for? I know it has one small hole by the keel. Can you really just weld plates in. The boat is pretty much free as long as I promise not to cut it up.

 

[drewpster]

Re: What to look for when buying a steel hulled boat?

I know they weld plates to steel hull house boats. Even to the point of skinning the whole hull. They use a pretty light gauge of steel plate, but I bet still adds allot of weight.
I would check out the whole hull, and hire a welder you trust before commiting. Rusty steel can be as weak as cardboard.